|
|
 |
VESTRY
An Episcopal Church vestry serves many of the functions served by boards of directors or trustees at other non-profit organizations.
As its primary responsibility, the vestry oversees the parish's financial health. In partnership with the rector, it develops and approves the annual parish budget.
The vestry also serves as an advisory council to the rector who by church law is the parish's chief liturgical and pastoral officer.
Although in the past a rector tended to be autocratic, today he or she forms a partnership with the vestry in order to assure the health of the parish.
The St. Paul's vestry consists of 16 elected members of the parish. Four vestry members are elected by the parish each spring for a term of four years, after which they cannot be reelected until they have been off the vestry for at least one year.
The parish has four officers: a rector's warden, a parishioners' warden, an accounting warden and a secretary. These four, and two other vestry members elected by the vestry, make up the coordinating committee, which serves as both the executive committee of the vestry and as its personnel committee.
Other standing committees mandated by the by-laws are finance, property and stewardship. In addition the vestry has formed other permanent standing committees: education (known at St. Paul's as spiritual formation), hospitality, outreach, evangelism and communications among them.
All vestry members serve on many committees and each committee must either be chaired by a vestryperson or have a vestry liaison.
The vestry at St. Paul's maintains an open-door policy with everyone in the parish. Posted on this Web site and in Dixon House on campus are the minutes of the vestry meetings. Parishioners and others can contact the vestry through a link on this site. All regular vestry meetings begin with a 15-minute "Right of the Floor," an open forum to which a parishioner may bring any concerns, ideas or proposals he or she feel need vestry attention.
Read minutes of vestry meetings.
|
|
|
|
